Wife says husband was suicidal when he rammed truck into vehicles in Wal-Mart parking lot

Nicholas Melton seeks bond reduction

The wife of a 33-year-old man facing five charges of aggravated assault told a judge during a hearing Wednesday she believed her husband was suicidal when he reportedly rammed his pickup truck into three vehicles May 22 in a parking lot in South Lubbock.

He was being held at the Lubbock County Detention Center. His bond was set at $25,000 on four aggravated assault charges, $50,000 on one aggravated assault charge and $10,000 for a criminal mischief charge.

He also faces a bad check charge with a bond set at $1,000.

Melton went before Judge John McClendon Wednesday to ask that his bond be reduced from the $160,000 total to $50,000.

Tiffany Melton, his wife of 12 years, testified before McClendon about the hardships she and their two children were going through while her husband, who worked in construction, was in jail.

She said she and her children had to move out of the house they rented and are living in an apartment.

Car payments and rent eat up half of her $2,000 monthly wage, she said.

Problems in their marriage led to a separation between the couple, who were going through counseling separately, Tiffany Melton said.

Melton said she believed her husband was in a suicidal state after a phone conversation they had about their separation.

Tiffany Melton asked her husband to move out of their house the night of his arrest.

“I did say some things to him that night,” she said.

She believed when the call ended, Melton got in his 2012 Dodge Ram 3500 parked in the Wal-Mart parking lot at 6315 82nd St. and tried to kill himself.

Lubbock police investigators believe Melton sped north across the store’s parking lot, striking a storm water drain. He continued speeding toward the Murphy fuel station where he hit three vehicles, drove across a grassy area into 82nd Street and struck a fourth vehicle.

He parked his truck in a nearby parking lot and walked away. Police officers found him shortly after and arrested him.

Five people suffered injuries, four of whom were taken by ambulance to University Medical Center, including a 6-year-old girl who suffered life-threatening injuries, according to police.

Melton’s lawyer, Laurie Key, argued her client was not a flight risk since his family is in Lubbock.

She said Melton was not the typical client she defends.

“He has not been in trouble or arrested for anything in his life,” she said.

She argued a $50,000 bond on all charges was sufficient.

However, lead prosecutor Barron Slack was against the reduction, arguing Melton still posed a threat to Lubbock residents.

He said the factors believed to have caused Melton’s state of mind the night he allegedly struck five people with his truck were still in place.

“People were hurt because of this,” he said. “I can’t guarantee he’s not a risk to himself or others.”

Tiffany Melton told Slack they haven’t talked about their marriage since her husband’s arrest.

She said the couple have set the problems in their marriage aside as they work to get past this case. She promised McClendon her husband will make his court-ordered appointments.

McClendon did not make a decision on the bond reduction before adjourning the hearing Wednesday, saying he needed to read the prosecution’s report.

However, he did lay out conditions for Melton if he is released on bail, which included:

■ Counseling.

■ Random urinalysis tests.

■ A curfew from 9 p.m. to 6:30 a.m.

■ Not to have contact with his alleged victims.

■ He will also be required to live with his wife.

“That’s all I can think of for now,” he told Melton. “I might think of more.”

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Bravo to the prosecutor for acknowledging that this offender is an ongoing danger to the public. What will guarantee that every time Nicholas Melton gets 'ticked off'' he won't get in his Ram 3500 and ram it into more innocent people? This time it was a truck, next time he could use a gun to 'vent' his anger on the poor souls who are in his way. Why was he not charged with child endangerment, multiple counts of attempted murder and other crimes? That poor child was in critical condition for a long time. Aggravated assault is not sufficient for what he did to all those people.

And with a good lawyer he will probably only face one aggravated assault charge...that's wrong. Mrs. Melton should think about her own safety and the safety of her children and quit making excuses for his nefarious temper. They need to lock him up and throw away the key! And furthermore, that bond should have been set at $1,000,000.